Why Preach for Conversions and not merely
Professions of Faith?
What kind of Christian is the church producing today?
For, the most part we do not see church members fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciple-making disciples, or much less posing a serious threat to the kingdom of darkness by gospel proclamation. Why are so many congregations made up of, to be blunt, dead wood professors of faith? As author Mark Shaw observes in his book, Ten Great Ideas from Church History, we see churches filled with two kinds of ineffective Christians: primarily nominal Christians (apathetic), and nervous Christians (doubt-filled).ⁱ Much of this article is an adaptation of a portion of Mark Shaw’s invaluable book, Ten Great Ideas, “A Vision for Assurance, William Perkins Model of Conversion and Assurance,” Chapter 4.
The English Puritans believed that the reason for so many nominal and nervous churchgoers is that ministers were preaching for professions of faith rather than genuine conversions.ⁱⁱ Puritan William Perkins was convinced that there was great power in a believer’s life if he has assurance of salvation, and with it the certainty of God’s love and favor. And, what Perkins said so clearly over 400 years ago is that the connection between conversion and assurance of salvation easily drifts from view. In view of that he desired that his hearers not miss the indivisible link between the marks of true conversion and assurance of salvation. ‘Conversion’ refers to the change wrought by divine grace in the soul, by which there is a new creation—the whole life is changed, old things have passed away, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17).ⁱⁱⁱ Thus, conversion is both a change in attitude and in behavior. It means committing one’s entire life to the service of God. In this sense, the believer is continually being converted.ⁱᵛ
Beginning with the Protestant Reformers followed by Calvin’s generation, there was an emphasis on the sovereignty of God’s grace that often left in its wake a dead orthodoxy, as if God’s grace and genuine conversion were unrelated. Even in William Perkins’ day, the late 1500’s, there was a tendency to downplay the necessity of ongoing repentance. Perkins saw that problem and stressed that because churches have not taught about genuine conversion, there was a rising phenomenon of both nominal and nervous Christians.ᵛ
Ongoing repentance is a vital mark of true conversion.
The nominal Christian in this context is unsaved—a Christian in name only, he has false assurance. The nervous Christian is saved but lacks assurance. Neither of these church attenders will make much of a mark for Christ, they are both ineffective and resistant to change. Perkins makes a convincing case that the biblical elements of true conversion are the answer to the problem of nominal and nervous Christians. Yes, we exalt the Lord for His matchless grace, for our Lord has purchased by His atoning work the blessings of assurance, right-standing,
The Pursuit of Godliness
forgiveness, and adoption, but only if these blessings are reckoned and experienced will the believer exhibit courage, boldness, fruitfulness, and effectiveness. Speaking similarly, Puritan Walter Marshall (1628-1680) observes, “Justification endows us for holiness. We must reckon that the breach of friendship which sin has made between us, and God is made up by a firm reconciliation to His love and favor.”ᵛⁱ
Perkins notes that the nominal Christian has an inflated self-concept and tends to be self-satisfied and self-justified. He considers himself as good a person as the next Christian, thus he is resistant to change and to true Christianity. His false confidence comes from spiritual presumption. Conversely, the nervous Christian has a much different problem. Despite the promises of the gospel, he is miserable, self-loathing, and tormented by doubt. He lacks assurance of salvation and is highly critical of self and others. Churches are filled with these two ineffective kinds of Christians: cold nominal Christians who are indifferent and smug, and nervous Christians who are neurotically insecure and negative. How can a pastor minister to a congregation like this? How can they light a fire under the apathetic, and conversely, grant calming comfort to the nervous?ᵛⁱⁱ Perkins posed a biblical solution to each of these two maladies. The smug nominal professor needs a biblical shock to the system; for he is enmeshed in a cultural version of Christianity that is adapted to his desires. His hardened heart is blind to the bitterness of sin and to the moral distinctions established by God Almighty.ᵛⁱⁱⁱ
Regarding assurance of salvation, John Calvin who predates Perkins said, “Genuine assurance is found in a firm and certain persuasion of God’s benevolence toward us.” The true foundation of certainty concerning divine love and favor is God-centered. It is an internalizing of God’s gracious acceptance of ourselves (Rom 8:31). A failure to experience this certainty of God’s love, contributes to both the phenomenon of nominal Christianity—exaggerated self-opinion, and nervous discontented Christianity—a negative despairing perspective. But merely parroting the doctrine of justification by faith is not the answer. A cavalier, impenitent acceptance of justification, or mere assent can lead to easy believe-ism which results in a shallow Christian experience, or in the complete absence of salvation.ⁱˣ
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Puritans for diligently filling out the portrait of a true believer.
By fleshing out the description of a genuine believer, the Puritans gave us a greater completeness to our practical theology. Under Calvin and Luther justification tended to be split from true conversion which served to reduce Christianity to a bare creed of dead orthodoxy with no life-changing power. Thus, whether the deadness of the state church historically, or in the modern era, shallow seeker-ism, the problem is not new. Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to the lifelessness of easy believe-ism as cheap grace. It is a barren profession without a call to discipleship—in other words, without a call to conversion (a changed life). Bonhoeffer was convinced that a lack of preaching and teaching of the necessity of conversion contributed to the error of cheap grace.ˣ
The solution to the pervasive problem of cheap grace was something that William Perkins and the English Puritans sought to solve biblically. They confronted the two extremes of nominal and nervous Christians in a way that unleashed the power of justification by faith. They did this by fusing justification with an evangelical concept of conversion. In other words, they carefully exposited the relationship between justification and sanctification. With great precision they explained what God does in our salvation and what we must do by His grace. They made a scriptural case for the following: the cure for the nominal Christian was true conversion, and the cure for nervous Christian was full assurance of salvation. William Perkins put these two pastoral strategies together—into one idea, that is the concept of assurance through true conversion. Assurance through true conversion is the best way to ground a believer’s confidence, and therefore to overcome the extremes of apathy and anxiety which plagued the church.ˣⁱ
William Perkins’ findings on conversion and assurance can be summarized under six points. For in his day as in ours, believers sincerely wished to know, “how can I be confident that Christ died for me in particular?” The following six points taken together form the prescription for confident faith and a peace-filled conscience.ˣⁱⁱ
I. Abiding assurance is only possible through a true conversion.
Perkins realized that Luther and Calvin had left something out, for these two reformers primarily stressed God’s side in salvation: predestination, the atoning work of Christ, and justification. They beautifully articulated justification by faith as the great answer to man’s sin. But they didn’t really answer what a believing sinner should do. As thoroughgoing Calvinists, Perkins and the Puritans of course rejected the synergism inherent in Pelagianism, namely that man can be saved by self-effort.
But we are indebted to the Puritans for explaining so clearly how justification by faith was to be fused with the process of conversion. Perkins, a staunch defender of God’s sovereign grace addressed a deficit in the church’s theology, namely the reality of the human side in salvation. In so doing, he answered the question: what is involved in the necessary response to what God is doing mightily within the sinner? For the sake of this article, the human factor in response to the divine factor can be called ‘co-action’ (Mark Shaw). Perkins’ book, The Golden Chain sought to present both the divine side of God’s work in salvation and the human side (Rom 8:29-31).ˣⁱⁱⁱ
God’s side in salvation is summarized as His particular love, election, calling, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. On the human side, the saving gift of new life is expressed in a new holy principle of obedience and a resolute warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. The human side in salvation has four main parts:
Stage 1, humbling, sorrow for sin, a softened heart that is teachable and receptable to the gospel. There is a deep conviction of sin that takes place normally through a work of the Law revealing the Holy demands of God and the depths of human sin. In this convicting work of the Spirit, there is a destruction of the vestiges of pride and self-righteousness (Lu 18:13-14). The sinner despairs of salvation by his own effort. He is convinced that his sin renders him morally and spiritually incapable of saving himself. In terms of point of emphasis: although this conviction of sin and spiritual awakening is a gift, God will not believe and repent for us.ˣⁱᵛ
Stage 2, saving faith is the supernatural gift of God enabling the apprehension of the promise of salvation in Christ. Of utmost importance is that faith possesses a certain conviction that the saving promises of Christ apply to me personally. Unlike detached admiration for a general offer, the awakened sinner flees to Christ’s Person (Heb 6:18). Late Puritan Thomas Hooker notes of this apprehension of Christ, ‘like the father of the prodigal, the [gospel] promise comes out to meet us to bring our soul home to God.’ The believing sinner is fully aware that Christ the Lord has found him in his helplessness, in his feeble, weak, and straying state.ˣᵛ
Stage 3, repentance from sin in a full turning from it, in godly sorrow for having offended such a merciful and loving God. It is a profound change of mind involving the whole man in his affections, life, and conversation (walk). Repentance manifests a deep level of resolution to not sin against God, but to live to please Him in everything. This pledge of total repentance coming from the inner man does not mean perfect, flawless repentance. What it does mean is a whole-souled promise to leave off sin and begin obeying God in all things. True repentance produces an ongoing life of repentance. It puts the promise to repent into action so that the initial experience of repenting becomes a lifelong process—this is vital in genuine conversion.ˣᵛⁱ True repentance is Godward, ‘repentance toward God’ (Acts 20:21). By contrast, the hypocrite’s motivations seldom arise above self-love.ˣᵛⁱⁱ
Stage 4, new obedience in which there is conformity to God’s moral law expressed in loving God and others radically. This new obedience manifests itself by cooperation with the Holy Spirit, and that involves mortifying old habits and attitudes of sin and cultivating new Christ-like habits and attitudes of holiness (Phil 2:12-13). The converted man goes forth armed with the commands of Christ (Lu 9:23) in a life of self-denial and exaltation of God. God’s grace received issues forth in the desire to grow in our knowledge of Christ as well as a longing to see His rule over other people’s lives through the gospel and His commands. This new obedience is manifested by taking up the cross daily, and cheerfully bearing burdens and afflictions (Heb 12:4-13).ˣᵛⁱⁱⁱ In persons truly saved by grace, Christ’s judgment (1 Cor 2:16) is set up in the heart so that the believer walks by His rule.ˣⁱˣ
A converted man is a Christ follower.
Obedience means following Christ by practicing the Christian virtues of meekness, patience, love, and obedience through the mortification of our sin and the exercise of a new life principle. We would do well to note the connection between Perkins marks of conversion, and Calvin’s six habits of godliness. (See “The Six Habits of True Spirituality modeled by Disciple-makers” by Wegter). We are indebted to William Perkins for his diligence in emphasizing the necessity of conversion in his preaching, and in his counseling, and teaching.ˣˣ The Puritans were genuine shepherds. Though theologians, they excelled in pastoral care. Perkins’ ministry typified the disciple-making commitment expressed by Paul in Colossians 1:28-29, laboring to present every man complete in Christ. A second mark of a confident faith and a peace-filled conscience is:
II. Assurance is an action of the Holy Spirit.
Tender-hearted believers ask, “How can I be sure my faith is genuine?” “How can I be sure my sins are forgiven?” Perkins wrestled with how to answer these questions which are frequently asked by serious believers. He stressed that a true conversion persuades the conscience, and a persuaded conscience issues the verdict of assurance of salvation. Through faith in Christ’s Word, the Spirit shows to you the work He has done in you, and the work Christ has done for you. (See J. Wegter’s article, “The Benefits of Assurance of Salvation”). Conscience is a faculty that constantly generates verdicts. It issues hundreds of verdicts about you daily. It condemns us when we break God’s laws, and it comforts and assures us when we are right before God and His Law.
Thus, the conscience is always either acquitting and accusing and therefore, most of our emotions flow from the verdicts of conscience (Rom 2:14-15). How well do we know from experience that guilt and condemnation produce shame, sadness, fear, desperation, and restlessness. Conversely, acceptance and favor registered by God in the regenerated conscience cleansed by the gospel produce joy and peace and patience, even in trial (Rom 15:13). These virtues are the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). So, how does one obtain this sense of certainty of God’s forgiveness and love so that the conscience will enter a positive assuring verdict? Answer: get the conscience controlled by the facts of the gospel first, and second, by the facts of one’s conversion. Infallible certainty of pardon of sin, and of life everlasting is the property of every renewed conscience. The principal agent is the Holy Spirit who enlightens the mind, instructing it though the instrument of the gospel. He renews the conscience by the gospel (Rom 12:2). The foundation for assurance is the gospel promise in Christ. That is the ongoing major premise (1 Jn 5:12-13), my conversion, and its evidence, is the minor premise (1 Jn 3:18-24). The conclusion, assurance of salvation— gives joy and gladness.ˣˣⁱ Labor to grow strong in faith. The greater the measure of faith, the greater the measure of holiness, the greater the obedience the greater the comfort.ˣˣⁱⁱ
III. Assurance must be rooted in God’s sovereignty.
My conscience may still be restless, sending blows against my assurance. I must feed my conscience more on gospel truths, not the least of which is God’s sovereign grace. Perkins, as in the vein of other Puritans, taught that salvation begins with God’s choice of us, not our choice of God (Jn 15:16). But we do not know the secret counsels of God, we cannot peer into them, for they cannot be known (Deut 29:29). And, yet knowing that God is sovereign in our salvation is a great comfort. For, unless our salvation is by the decree of God, we never could have certainty in the human conscience. We’d be perturbed by questions such as, “Have I done enough, have I believed enough?”
God’s sovereign grace is proclaimed in the unbreakable chain set forth in Romans 8:28-31. Each link in the chain is inseparably joined to the other by His sovereign grace. Thus, to have justification must by necessity require that I am elect (foreknown and predestined) and will be glorified. The chain can’t break. In genuine conversion, I can be confident that I will be preserved and glorified. For, nothing can separate me from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39).ˣˣⁱⁱⁱ We can attest that we often bring a weak faith to a strong promise. In fact, that appears to be the norm, the promises of God in His Word fortify our feeble faith. By hiding ourselves in the fortress of His promises, we may assure ourselves that ‘God is graciously pleased to be our God and Father and to take us as His children. This mindset alone gives us sufficient strength to encourage our hearts unto holiness in all difficulties’.ˣˣⁱᵛ
Naked reliance on Christ by faith brings assurance of salvation.
IV. Assurance is focused on Christ by faith.
The nervous Christian is self-focused, he asks himself, “is my faith too weak toward the truths I am to believe?” Because he is anxious, his assurance suffers. His troubled conscience returns, but if he learns to ‘preach the gospel to himself’, he will better understand that even a weak faith can apprehend or perceive a mighty Christ. Don’t stop with attempting to behold your own faith, but instead behold the object of your faith which is Christ. Naked reliance on Christ by faith brings assurance. Even a weak faith can cling to Jesus. Thomas Hooker offers this gospel counsel, ‘don’t get into the habit of taking comfort in what you are. The sole support must be Christ Himself. All the world’s vanities are [merely] versions of taking comfort in what you are’ (Thomas Hooker, The Poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ).ˣˣᵛ
V. Assurance is strengthened by sanctification (2 Pet 1:10-11; 1 Jn 3:18-22).
Just as sin troubles our conscience, and interrupts our flow of assurance, so holiness strengthens and stabilizes the testimony of conscience that we are the children of God. Perkins utilizes the assurance passages in First John, stressing that loving God and others is an important support to our sense of assurance (secondary to gospel promises). But the nervous Christian will immediately ask, “How much love and holiness is necessary for assurance?” Perkins answers, “One apple is sufficient to manifest the life of the tree.”ˣˣᵛⁱ Thomas Watson asserts that the amount of holy violence (diligence) exercised yields the amount of peace you possess. Walking obediently in the fear of God is directly proportional to the comforts of the Holy Spirit. The false Christian only offers violence to his conscience (guilt but no action).ˣˣᵛⁱⁱ By way of contrast, living submitted to the lordship of Christ means a fixed desire and determination to pursue conformity to the character of Christ (Wilberforce).ˣˣᵛⁱⁱⁱ
VI. Assurance does not eliminate spiritual depression and doubt and assaults upon our peace.
Though assurance is certain and full, it is assailed by doubt and depression. After all, we are in a state of war with the kingdom of darkness. The enemy tempts us to doubt God and question the power of the cross. At times he even tempts a strong believer to doubt and despair of salvation and God’s grace. But Perkins rejoinder is priceless. He states that the attack of doubt is itself a testimony of your salvation. The devil fires arrows of doubt and depression. But, says Perkins, “Every child of God experiences these darts more or less at one time or another; they feel the sting of sin and the buffeting of Satan.” But this grief is a notable grace of God because it keeps us from self-trust and forces us to flee to Christ. That’s the place of safety and help. Spiritually dead men are left asleep by the devil, the evil one desires to keep them ‘asleep’ lest they should be disturbed by warning signs.ˣˣⁱˣ The enemy’s strategy against a true believer ultimately backfires, his darts become fuel for a deepening assurance as we cling tighter to the Shepherd of our souls.
As ministers and teachers, it is invaluable to know how to apply the six aspects of conversion summarized by Perkins. This present author is convinced that the best way to overcome the extremes of apathy—nominal Christianity; and anxiety—nervous Christianity is for church leaders to appropriate these biblical elements of conversion.ˣˣˣ
Here are guidelines for incorporating the biblical truths of conversion:
Use #1 The necessity of conversion is an answer to the charge of cheap grace. Today’s theological shallowness and reductionism tend to separate the historically unified concepts of justification and sanctification. And, attending that separation is the severing of faith from repentance, saviorhood from lordship, and the new birth from discipleship. But genuine faith that comes to expression through conversion is not cheap, it has a cost.ˣˣˣⁱ But, the hypocrite wants joy before he is done sowing the seed of repentance—his desire is heaven, but not holiness (Thomas Watson).ˣˣˣⁱⁱ
Use #2 The necessity of conversion is an aid to the powerful and balanced preaching of grace. The power of God’s grace is most vivid against the backdrop of the convicting power of the Law and the depth of human sin. The necessity of a human response to the gospel through conversion must be stressed. For, in our exposition of God’s sovereign grace and human inability, many ministers fail to call for the action of the sinner humbling himself and repenting of sin. But, when conversion is taught in tandem with sovereign grace, it is a powerful model of ‘coaction’ that glorifies God and assures the believing sinner of his standing in Christ.ˣˣˣⁱⁱⁱ
Grace is often preached today as if it doesn’t matter to God what you do. This insipid form of preaching removes the bitterness of sin from the minds of the hearers.ˣˣˣⁱᵛ Puritan Matthew Mead (1629-1699) admonishes, ‘salvation is not so easy a thing as people imagine it is’. ‘Our Lord spoke of an extremely narrow gate’ (Mt 7:13-14). ‘There are but few that ‘close themselves up in the wounds of Christ’, most only assent to the gospel. ‘Do not mistake bare conviction for true conversion’. ‘Hypocrisy abounds, plead for a thorough work of conversion’.ˣˣˣᵛ
Use #3 The necessity of conversion is indispensable to the comfort of those seeking assurance. Countless church people are insecure in their relationship with God. Consequently, they can become neurotic, thorny critics resistant to change. Conversely, it is those who have a deep and satisfying sense of God’s unchanging love for them in Christ who are full of the assurance of their sonship. Therefore, they are more able to bear the fruit of the Spirit, and they become positive forces and models in the congregation. A ‘gospel-educated’ conscience is an enlightened conscience that through the finished work of Christ, issues comforting and approving verdicts to the soul. This is all because of the cross which is the key for enjoying God and feeling the depth of our security in Him. Assured Christians are happy and productive Christians.ˣˣˣᵛⁱ
Use #4 The necessity of conversion is the biblical way to promote a regenerate church membership, a church of genuine believers. An emphasis on conversion provides the church with a way to counsel and to test the sincerity of a person’s confession (profession of faith). An emphasis on conversion is also strategic in parenting. For, it allows a mother and a father to teach children what conversion is all about. And it is a perfect springboard from which to instruct their children in the chief duties of a Christian. Conversion is also indispensable in teaching your children about the source of assurance, how they can know for sure they are Christians.
Use #5 The necessity of conversion is an essential guide to personal evangelism. In proclaiming the gospel and calling people to faith, don’t slide past the conversion process by giving people false assurance. If a seeker is giving you his time, include an explanation of the conversion process in your personal evangelism and counsel.ˣˣˣᵛⁱⁱ Let the seeker inquirer know that that there is a dangerous imitation form of Christianity which abounds today. This ‘cultural Christianity’ is not interested in the image of God being renewed in us through Christ. Let the awakened individual know that we are saved from sin’s dominion unto the life of the new man in Christ (Col 3:8-17). Today’s cultural Christianity is but a ‘half-gospel’—it is only concerned what a man is saved from, and not what he is saved unto.xxxviii
Use #6 The necessity of conversion is a way to renew genuine worship. Assurance of salvation through conversion does unleash gladness and joy in God and in the redemption He has granted. Thus, assurance fills public worship with deep affection. Such joy expels the formalism and externalism that is a blight to so much of worship today. The worship of truly converted saints leads them to sing, pray, and drink in the Word of God from glad and assured hearts. That is worship of the highest kind. It is greatly pleasing to God and encouraging to the people of God. For churches wrestling with the problems of nominal Christians steeped in dead external orthodoxy, and nervous insecure Christians who are tireless critics, solid assurance based on genuine conversion is the biblical solution.ˣˣˣⁱˣ As the old saying goes, when all else fails, read the instructions, and in this case the instructions require a return to what Scripture reveals and commands concerning conversion; the reality of new life in Christ. What a debt we owe to Perkins for moving the biblical doctrine of conversion from our peripheral vision to the central place it deserves.
End Notes:
i Mark Shaw, Ten Great Ideas from Church History, A Decision-maker’s Guide to Shaping your Church, “A Vision for
Assurance, William Perkins Model of Conversion and Assurance” (Downers Grove: IVP Il 60515, 1997) 76-92
ii Ibid, 76-77
iii Easton’s Bible Dictionary, “Conversion”
iv The Revell Bible Dictionary (J. Fleming, H. Revell, 1990), 245-246
v Shaw, 78-83
vi Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 2001), 14
vii Shaw, 76-77
viii William Wilberforce, Real Christianity (Ventura, CA: Regal Books from Gospel Light, 2006), 23-24
ix Shaw, 77
x Ibid, 78-79
xi Ibid, 78
xii Ibid, 82-83
xiii Ibid, 82-84
xiv Ibid.
xv Thomas Hooker, The Poor Doubting Christian drawn to Christ (Worthington, PA: Maranatha Pub.), 138-139
xvi Shaw, 84-85
xvii Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections, 178-179
xviii Shaw, 85
xix Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008 rp), 89-90
xx Shaw, 85
xxi Ibid, 86-87
xxii Edward Fisher, The Marrow of Modern Divinity (Scarsdale, NY Westminster Publishing), 216-217
xxiii Shaw, 87
xxiv Edward Fisher, 74
xxv Thomas Hooker, Poor Doubting Christian, 102-103
xxvi Shaw, 88-89
xxvii Thomas Watson, Heaven taken by Storm, Joel Beeke, Ed. (Ligonier, PA: Solo Deo Gloria Pub., 1992), 53, 57
xxviii Wilberforce, Real Christianity, 66
xxix Shaw, 88
xxx Ibid, 89
xxxi Ibid, 90-91
xxxii Watson, Heaven taken by Storm, 59, 63
xxxiii Shaw, 90
xxxiv Mark Jones, Antinomianism, Reformed Theology’s Unwanted Guest (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2013), 117
xxxv Matthew Mead, The Almost Christian Discovered (Ligonier, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Pub. 1989) 86, 106, 160-161, 210-211
xxxvi Shaw, 90
xxxvii Ibid, 90-91
xxxviii Wilberforce, 178
xxxix Shaw, 91